The Drink Takes The Man
by TheLaikynVictoria
Summary: McGee faces emotional stress and turns to alcohol. After an addiction sets in and a near death accident, Team Gibbs takes action. CHAPTER THREE FIXED! SORRY! COMPLETE
1. The Accident

"That does it for that one." McGee let the empty bottle of Everclear drop to the floor. "I need another one."

In his drunken state, even McGee recognized how stupid it would be to drive, so he settled on something a little weaker than the 95% pure alcohol Everclear.

Vodka in hand, he sat in the kitchen of his apartment, glass bottles littered around the table, the counters, the floor...

While sober, McGee wondered just what and why made him turn to alcohol.

It was a series of events, he'd realize once he had a few drinks.

Seven months earlier, they'd been working on an extremely tough case. The killer killed eight young girls before he was caught. ('Caught' meaning taking a bullet to the heart delivered by yours truly)

But that wasn't before he hurt Abby.

Abby had been staying late in her lab, everyone else but McGee had gone home.

Even Gibbs.

McGee was sure that he was honing in on the burn phone the killer possessed.

A feat that was nearly impossible.

He finally did, and then he realized where that would put the killer.

Directly inside Abby's lab.

McGee raced to the stairs, bypassing the elevator, and made it to Abby's lab in a mere 340 steps rather than Abby's 365.

He was too late.

He didn't reach it in time to keep the killer from getting in.

He didn't reach it in time to keep the killer from shooting Abby in the stomach.

But he did reach it in time to get a shot in his own shoulder.

And he did reach it in time to shoot the killer directly in the chest.

Abby survived after eight hours of surgery and three days in a coma.

McGee also had surgery, but his was far less extensive.

The bullet had just barely embedded itself in his shoulder and was removed fairly easily.

He was out of the hospital the day after.

Even though Tony and Ziva and even Gibbs told him it wasn't. McGee couldn't help but feel it was all his fault.

Maybe if he'd just been with her, it wouldn't have happened.

If he'd had insisted she go home, it wouldn't have happened.

And then he started drinking.

On the third night of Abby's coma, he somehow found himself in a bar, an Irish pub to more exact.

His shoulder was still wrapped up and his arm was still in a sling as he sat at the bar.

"What'll you have?" The bartender asked him.

"I don't care," McGee replied. "something strong."

And so it began.

The next morning, Abby awoke and she was fine and all were joyous.

But McGee wasn't there.

He was in bed, hungover by the obscene amounts of alcohol that were in his system.

Now, he sat in his kitchen, finishing off a bottle of vodka as he thought about everything.

Gibbs knew he was spiraling.

Tony knew he was spiraling.

Ziva knew he was spiraling.

Abby knew he was spiraling.

But McGee did not know he was spiraling.

"It helps." He'd tell himself.

It makes him forget.

He never drinks at work, of that Gibbs was thankful, but there have been a few times he came in hungover.

McGee left the newly empty bottle on the table and pulled a new one from his fridge, swigging it down.

He was pretty sure he had never been this drunk in his seven months of devout drinking.

_What is that noise? _

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

_It's really annoying, whatever it is._

Ring. Ring. RIng. Ring.

_Wait, phone. That's what it is._

Gibbs sleepily reached over and grabbed his cell phone off his nightstand, seeing that it was nearly 2:30 in the morning.

"Yeah, this is Gibbs." He managed to answer sounding as though he'd been up for hours.

"Special Agent Gibbs?"

"Yes."

"My name is Doctor Towbridge at Bethesda Naval Medical Center." The woman informed him. "You have a Special Agent Timothy McGee on your team, correct?"

Gibbs was fully at alert now.

"Yes. What's happened?" He asked as he hurriedly threw on some jeans and a polo shirt.

"Special Agent McGee has been in a car accident, and you're listed as immediate contact." She continued.

"What's his condition?" Gibbs demanded, grabbing his keys and wallet.

"He is in critical but stable condition, Sir." She told him. "He suffered a blow to the head, several broken ribs and a fractured arm."

Gibbs hesitated to ask the question he desperately didn't want to have to ask,

"...Any other vehicles?"

"No, Agent Gibbs." The doctor solemnly replied. "His blood alcohol level was eleven times the legal limit. He went off the road into a tree."

Gibbs sighed as he climbed into his car,

"I'll be right there."

Gibbs sped off in the direction of the hospital, dialing Tony's number as he did.

"DiNozzo." A very sleepy Tony answered the phone.

"McGee's been in a car accident. Call Ziva, and get to Bethesda." Gibbs barked.

"Yes, Boss." Tony answered, suddenly sounding very awake.

Gibbs hung up and dialed Ducky's number.

"Donald Mallard here." Ducky sounded as though he'd already been awake.

"Duck, McGee's been in a car accident." Gibbs told him, being a little gentler then he had been with Tony. "Can you call Abby, and get to Bethesda?"

"Why of course, Jethro." Ducky replied. "What's his condition?"

"Drunk and critical." Gibbs spat out.

"Oh dear..."

Gibbs mumbled a goodbye and hung up the phone.

Suddenly, he realized he had a stop to make before going to the hospital.

Fifteen minutes later, he was pulling into the Waverly college parking lot. He found Sarah's dorm, remembering where it was due to his last escapade here to Waverly, after bypassing a sleeping security guard.

He was knocking on the door for nearly five minutes before a very angry young woman answered the door.

"Can I help you?" She snapped.

"Where's Sarah McGee?" Gibbs asked her.

"Who...Agent Gibbs?" Sarah appeared in the doorway.

"Agent?" The student who'd answered the door seeming thoroughly confused.

"Agent Gibbs, Tim...Is..Is he..He's not.." Sarah stammered. "Is he alright?"

"He's been in a car accident, Sarah." Gibbs told her, trying to be as gentle as he could.

"Oh my God..." She breathed, but then her features hardened. "He was drunk wasn't he?"

Gibbs couldn't even reply before Sarah stalked back into the room. She shameless changed into a pair of jeans, Gibbs still standing awkwardly in the doorway.

She grabbed a t-shirt and threw it on over the cami she was wearing.

"I'm going to kill him!" She exclaimed as she slipped into a pair of flip flops.

"I'm going to kill him!"

Waiting. Endless waiting.

Ducky had called Abby, and after failed attempts at calming her down, he picked her up and got her to the hospital.

She still hasn't calmed down.

Tony called Ziva, and forever the 'stoic assassin', she calmly told Tony she'd be at the hospital ASAP.

Gibbs drove the fuming Sarah to Bethesda, not even trying to calm her down. She flailed her arms around, shouting and yelling obscenities at McGee, at the other drivers, at beer and at the world.

At some point in the early morning, around five AM, Ducky called Jimmy and informed him of McGee's accident.

Thirty minutes later, he too was sitting...Waiting.

Nearly five hours after they first arrived, Dr. Towbridge approached the group.

"Hello." She greeted warmly. She seemed exhausted yet pleased. "I assume all of you are here for Special Agent McGee."

"We are." Gibbs answered.

"How's Timmy? Please tell me he's okay! Is he alright?" Abby escaped Ducky's grasp and ran at the doctor. "Please! Is he okay?"

"Agent McGee suffered severe head trauma, sharp and blunt force." Dr. Towbridge told them. "He hit the front of his head on the dash, and a piece of glass pierced the left side of his head, just above the ear."

"Oh my God!" Abby exclaimed, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Please tell me he's okay." Sarah pleaded, much calmer than Abby.

"We removed the glass and repaired all damage to the skull, and after some minor cognitive therapy, he should be fine." Dr. Towbridge nodded. "His ribs will need time to heal, obviously. Fortunately, none of them punctured a lung. His arm is set, and he should regain full use of it in within several weeks."

"Is that it?" Tony asked her.

"His blood alcohol level was eleven times the legal limit, as I told you Agent Gibbs." Dr. Towbridge became very serious. "He's very lucky he didn't kill himself or anyone else."

"I will address that." Gibbs nodded. "Is he awake?"

"He is not," Dr. Towbridge shook her head. "He's in recovery right now, after which he'll be transferred to the ICU, meaning..."

"Only family allowed." Tony shook his head. "That's gotta be the dumbest rule I've ever heard!"

"Tony, calm down." Ziva said softly, resting a hand on Tony's arm.

"I will not calm down!" Tony yelled, wrenching his arm away. "My best friend was dumb enough to get totally wasted, and then was even dumber enough to go out and DRIVE! He could have and almost did die! How do you expect me to calm down!"

"Anthony, no good will come of stressing ourselves." Ducky said softly. He then turned to Dr. Towbridge. "Dear, my name is Doctor Donald Mallard."

"Hello Dr. Mallard." She shook his hand.

"While I understand the hospital guidelines, I assure you that we are Timothy's family in every sense of the word."

"That may be true, Dr. Mallard," Dr. Towbridge sighed, "but guidelines are guidelines, and-"

"I'm sure you could make an exception. Sarah here is the only family Timothy has within four thousand miles." Ducky interrupted. "We truly are the closest thing he has to a family other than his sister here."

"Well, let's wait to see Agent McGee feels when he wakes up, hm?" Dr. Towbridge pursed her lips at Ducky, who grinned.

"Of course, my dear." Ducky smiled back at her.

Once she left, Gibbs turned into full-on Boss-mode.

"DiNozzo, you and Ducky stay here with Sarah. I want you here when he wakes up. Ziva, go and get his car towed." He ordered. "Abby, come on, you're with me."

"With you where, Gibbs?" She asked, sniffling.

"Come on, Abbs." Gibbs said, softer now.

"Call when there's an update!" He said to Tony as he and Abby walked away.


	2. Remembering

**_A/N-_**

**_Heey! Chapter 2! There are 4 chapters, I'll post the next one sometime next week. =] _**

**_Please review! =]_**

**_By the way, if you want to check out the banner I made for this fic, along with other NCIS (and Bones and Criminal Minds) related fanart, go to my profile and then go to my flickr that I provide the link to. =] I'd appreciate it. _**

* * *

Disgust doesn't even begin to describe what Gibbs and Abby felt as they stepped into McGee's apartment.

Bottles were literally everywhere.

They probably couldn't have counted how many were there if they tried.

"Gibbs, he..he...What went wrong?" Abby frowned.

"No one can ever truly understand addiction unless they've ever experienced it." Gibbs sighed.

Abby nodded understandingly as she rocked back and forth on her feet,

"so, we're gonna clean this up, aren't we?"

_Morning_

Tony was exhausted as he dozed in and out of sleep next to McGee's hospital bed. He was the next on the unofficial 'rotation' put in place for a constant vigil on McGee.

When Tony realized he couldn't ever be comfortable in the completely uncomfortable chair, he sat up straight and sighed.

"Tim, I don't know why you're like this." He said softly. "I really don't. I would have expected this out of Gibbs, but not you. Not my Probie."

Tony looked down at his hands, feeling a lump rise in his throat.

"I tried to stop ya, McGee, I really did." He continued. "If only you'd have listened."

_Five Months Earlier_

Seven PM rolled around at the NCIS headquarters, and agents were leaving.

Going home to their husbands, wives, kids, roommates and the any other person they might occupy a home with.

Ziva had just left, opting to leave early and go on her run that night and come in earlier the next day. Ducky had as well, announcing he had a bridge game to attend to. Jimmy had a date with his girlfriend and had left even earlier than that.

Abby was in the squadroom, announcing her departure to Gibbs, who even himself was leaving when he was supposed to. (His father was in town, though no one mentioned it)

Tony was getting his things together to leave and go on a date, too. He'd met a young woman in a club the previous weekend and was excited to see her again. (Ziva felt the need to comment on how young she was in comparison to him, after which he mimicked her sarcastically with a poorly executed Israeli accent)

Abby and Gibbs left the squadroom together, he insisting he drive her to the bowling alley where she was to meet her nun friends and Tony was also about to leave, when he looked over and saw McGee.

He was sitting at his desk, staring at a blank computer screen. He had dark rings around his lifeless eyes.

That was the most off-putting thing about it.

McGee's usually sparkling, inquisitive and bright eyes were dull, dark and had a hint of a gray cast to them.

Frown lines were prominent on his forehead, and his skin was extremely pallor.

His clothes even seemed to sag on him, looking as though he'd lost a considerable amount of weight in the recent weeks.

"Hey, McGee." Tony stated, approaching his desk.

"Hey." He replied softly.

"How's it going?" Tony asked, leaning against the desk.

"It's going." McGee replied, not even looking up.

"What's going on, McGee?" Tony asked, giving up on the subtle small talk.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you always so depressed and sick looking?" Tony asked, standing again. "You've been like this since..."

His sentence trailed.

It was almost taboo to speak of what had happened those two months ago. Abby was fine, McGee was fine (physically, at least), and all was fine.

So there was no reason to talk about it.

So they didn't.

"It's nothing, Tony." McGee replied defensively. "And if it was something, it would certainly not be any of your business!"

"Come on, Tim, what's wrong?" Tony asked, genuinely worried now.

McGee never blew up at him like that.

Never.

"Tony, nothing is wrong!" McGee yelled as he stood up. "Leave me alone!"

"Not a chance, McGee." Tony mumbled as McGee stumbled over his own feet as he tried to storm away. "What is going on?"

"Let go." McGee hissed, his eyes flaming and nostrils flaring.

Tony let go and reared back, purely due to the shock of McGee's display of anger.

Of hatred.

"McGee, what...Please, let me help you." Tony pleaded.

McGee grabbed his coat from the back of the chair and his keys and gun from his drawer and stalked toward the elevator, but not before flashing Tony a glare and seething,

"Leave me alone, Tony."

_Present_

Tony sighed.

"McGee, if you can even hear me, or even if you can't, I want you to know that we're here for you." Tony told him. "We're all here for you."

With that, Tony drifted off to sleep, sitting up in the chair.

He was awoke a few hours later by a nurse coming in to check McGee's vitals.

"You must be really close." She commented, pulling the thermometer out and sticking it in McGee's mouth.

"He's me partner." Tony shrugged. "You don't leave partners behind."

"Partner?" She asked, confused.

"Right, new nurse." Tony laughed to himself. "We're federal agents."

"Ah." She nodded and grinned. "What agency are you in?"

"NCIS." Tony replied. "That's Naval Cri-"

"Criminal Investigative Service." She interrupted, grinning. "My husband is a CWO on a destroyer. He's out in the Indian ocean right now, actually."

"That's cool, see, most people don't know what NCIS is." Tony explained.

She grinned at him, again, as the thermometer beeped.

"Good, his fever's down." She stated.

"It was up?" Tony inquired.

"Yeah, he had an infection from one of his injuries, and he peaked a fever for a while." She told him as she read McGee's chart. "Normal for almost any serious infection, but he should be just fine in a couple of weeks."

Tony nodded and she left the room, making it silent once again.

The only sound was the incessant heart monitor, telling Tony that McGee's heart was still beating.

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._


	3. Planning

_**A/N-I am so sorry I haven't updated recently! I really have no excuse beside laziness and the lack of inspiration. I hope you enjoy this small little thing here. Hehe. Please review! **_

_**UPDATE-**_

_**I'm sorry! When I copied and pasted it into** **a new file so I could put it on here, the formatting messed up. Sorry! It's fixed now!**_

* * *

_Four Months Earlier_

McGee sat behind his desk, his head in his arms. His face was very pale and had a green cast to it. He was obviously in some sort of pain. "McGee." Gibbs stood in front of his desk, looking down at him.

"McGee!"

"Yeah, Boss." McGee lazily looked up. "Sorry."

"What's wrong with you McGee?" Gibbs asked, even though he knew full well what was wrong with him.

"It's..It's nothing, Boss." McGee replied, shaking his head. "It's nothing."

"McGee, you look like you're about to lose your breakfast on your desk." Gibbs said softly. "You need to go home."

"Home?" McGee repeated, looking up at him again. This time, he winced and lowered his head again. He reached up and started rubbing his temples, exhaling loudly. "Okay."

Gibbs watched McGee go toward the elevator, wondering when everything had gone so wrong.

_Present _

"Well, Gibbs, McGee should be happy with this." Abby exclaimed.

"He should be happy he's alive." Gibbs retorted as he locked McGee's apartment door behind them. They made their way down the hallway, back toward the stairs.

"Yeah, well maybe this should help." Abby grinned at him and then linked her arm through his. "Right, Boss-Man?"

"Maybe." Gibbs mumbled.

* * *

Gibbs sat in the uncomfortable, straight backed chair, attempting to read some sort of magazine but he really was worrying about McGee. Tony was asleep on the cot the hospital so graciously provided to him after refusing to go home. Gibbs looked up at the sleeping agent, shaking his head. He understood addiction.

He understood it all too well, even alcoholism. He couldn't go without a bottle of bourbon, but he couldn't remember the last time he was outright drunk. McGee was so vulnerable and impressionable, especially for an adult NCIS agent. One wrong move, and McGee could be hooked. Like he is now. Suddenly, the body in the bed started stirring. After a few moments, McGee's eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Boss?" He croaked.

"Yeah, I'm here, McGee." Gibbs spoke softly.

"Boss, I'm..I'm sorry." McGee whispered. "I was drunk, I shouldn't have went out driving."

"Yeah, that was a stupid move there, Tim." Gibbs nodded. "I'd slap you if that head injury there wasn't so bad."

McGee slightly grinned, "yeah, my head is hurting pretty bad."

"McGee, what are you thinking?" Gibbs asked him, changing his tone. McGee stayed silent, choosing to stare at his hands than Gibbs' discerning eyes.

"Promise me you'll get better." Gibbs pressed.

"I'll try."

Gibbs nodded.

"That's all I can ask."

* * *

A week later, McGee was out of the hospital. He was able to go back to work two weeks later. And try as he might, he still didn't give up the alcohol.

Gibbs, Ziva, Tony, Abby and Ducky...

They all knew what they had to do.

The five aforementioned people, along with McGee's sister, Sarah, were gathered at Gibbs' house, all of them in his living room. They were laying out their plan of attack.

"Staging an intervention is never a pleasant task." Ducky announced. "I assume I can speak for all of us when I saw, I truly wish it had never came to this."

"Yeah." Sarah nodded in agreement. "So what are we going to do."

"Firstly, we need to set Timothy up with admission to a local treatment center." Ducky told them. "My mother's friend's son was partial to alcohol as well, and I understand that Hope House Treatment center in Crownsville is where he 'sobered up'."

"Maryland?" Tony spoke up.

Ducky nodded the affirmative, "yes, from what I understand, it's a fine center."

"I'll call them tomorrow." Gibbs announced, looking at his watch to see that it was already nearly midnight.

"What else do we need to do?" Ziva asked. "I mean, I remember from a TV show I saw once that the family and friends wrote letters to the subject."

"Yes, that is a fine idea." Ducky nodded, again. "But remember to keep your letters to Timothy focused on 'I' instead of 'you'. We are trying to show him that we care for him and we are worried for him, and that we are not pointing any judgmental fingers."

"I'll call that center tomorrow, and we'll do this thing Saturday." Gibbs announced. "Now I think it's high time that we all get some sleep. We _do _have work tomorrow, after all."

Soon, everyone was gone except for Abby, who now turned to Gibbs with pleading eyes.

"Gibbs, do you think I can stay here tonight?" She asked him, batting her eyes.

"Why?"

"I don't know, because...Because..." She stammered. "I don't know. I just don't feel like being alone, tonight."

Gibbs nodded understandingly and pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, you can stay here, Abbs."


	4. I Can't Wait

**_A/N-Final chapter! Sorry it's taken so long. To be perfectly honest, I forgot that I hadn't posted this whole fic up yet cause it's been done for a long time. =] PLEASE review! Please please please please! =D I love reviews so much. =]_**

* * *

_Saturday_

"Hey, McGee, mind comin' over and helping me?" Tony asked into the phone. "My TV is all hinky again."

"Not today, Tony." McGee sounded sober...

"Please?" Tony attempted to plead, looking over at Gibbs with a shrug. Them, along with the rest of the gang, were in Tony's apartment. They decided that Tony's was the only place they could have it that would make sense on a Saturday.

"Tony, I'm...I'm busy." McGee sighed.

"Aww, come on, Man. I'll even come pick you up or something." Tony whined, hoping he didn't sound too obvious. "I can't watch Magnum!"

"Fine, fine." McGee surrendered. "I'll be there in a half hour."

"Yes!" Tony grinned. "Thanks Man. I owe you one."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." McGee hung up the phone. Tony turned to the gang.

"He'll be here in thirty minutes."

_Knock, knock, knock, knock._

Tony gulped, looked around at everyone, and then went toward the door.

"Hey, McGee!" Tony greeted. "Thanks for coming!"

"Yeah, well, which TV is it?" McGee asked as they made their way to the living room. "Is it your living room one, or..."

He trailed off when he saw everyone sitting around the room. His eyes went to and from each person specifically. Gibbs, Ziva, Ducky, Jimmy, Abby...

"What's...What's going on?" He asked suspiciously.

"McGee, can you sit down, please." Gibbs asked firm but kindly.

"I said, what is going on?" McGee asked, defensive now.

He knew.

"Timmy, please just sit down and hear us out." A near tearful Abby pleaded.

"Timothy, dear boy, we all care about you and just want to talk to you." Ducky added.

McGee looked around the room once more before sitting down on the couch. Tony took a seat next to him.

"McGee, we have come here today, because we are scared for your life." Ziva started. "We are scared for your life because of this...This, alcohol problem."

"Tim, I know all too well what an addiction can be like." Gibbs told him. "But I am worried for you, because I can't help but feel that you don't want to stop."

"You're right, I don't want to stop." McGee snapped, standing up. Ducky and Tony gently pulled him back down, exchanging a glance. Ducky nodded.

"McGee, I..I..See, I.." Tony stammered. He reached over and picked up the piece of paper he'd written the letter on. "McGee, you've been my partner for eight years, and I almost lost you due to this addiction. I...I love you, Man, and I couldn't...I wouldn't be able to stand it if I lost you because of this. Please, please get help."

"Help?" McGee repeated, confused. "What..I.."

"Timothy, there is a place called the Hope House for men and women with drug and alcohol addictions." Ducky told him. "We have arranged for you to stay there for eight weeks and receive treatment."

"Eight weeks?" McGee exclaimed, jumping up. "I'm not going away to some looney bin for eight weeks to receive treatment for something I don't want to fix!"

He attempted to storm away, but Gibbs stopped him. He stood in the doorway, staring McGee down.

"Please sit down, Tim." He nearly whispered. "Hear all of us out."

McGee grumbled and sat back down, wringing his hands together.

"Timmy, I love you, and I feel like I've lost you." Abby started, reading from her own paper. "You're not the same person you were before the accident, and I miss you so much. I want you back. I want to be able to know that I can count on you...For anything..Because right now...I can't."

Abby sniffled as tears ran down her cheeks.

"But I love you so, so much." She continued. "Please get help. We all miss you."

"Ziva." Ducky whispered.

"McGee, I have known you for a shorter time than everyone else here." Ziva started. "But I have been here long enough to know that I care for you deeply, and am also extremely worried for you." Ziva inhaled shakily and Abby reached over and gripped her hand supportingly.

"I do hope you will get help, McGee," she continued after a moment. "Because as Abby said, we miss you, and would do anything to get you back."

"Ziva, Abby..." McGee opened his mouth as if to say something, and then shut it. He shook his head.

"Jethro?" Ducky offered, looking at the fearless leader.

"Tim, you've been on my team for eight years, and never have I grown to care for someone as fast as I have you." Gibbs started. McGee seemed shocked by Gibbs' touching words, but the rest of the crew seemed unfazed. "I wonder sometimes, how can you be so stupid? And I have to stop myself because...I've been down this path, McGee. It's not easy, not in the slightest. But please get help, because I don't want to have to fire you."

The last bit was said with a bit of humor, so as to lighten the mood if even in the slightest.

"Timothy, I believe it goes without saying that we all love and care for you." Ducky told him. "We want you to receive treatment, so that we won't have to be scared for you, anymore."

Silence ensued for a moment.

"So will you?" Tony asked hopefully.

McGee by now had tears shimmering in his eyes and he nodded,

"yeah. I will."

_Eight Weeks Later_

McGee left the Hope House filled with, well, hope. Tony had come and got him, and when he entered the building, there was McGee.

The sparkle was back in his eyes, and he seemed so much...Happier.

Tony forgot all else and let the tears fall from his eyes and McGee did the same as they embraced.

"I'm proud of you McGee." Tony whispered. "Now come back to work, and fix this plasma screen."

McGee laughed as they pulled apart.

"I can't wait."


End file.
